AAA - Ask Autechre Anything - Sean and Rob on WATMM!

[coax]

btw thanks sean, see ya!

[Rob Ae]

Which track got you signed to warp? Or did they come to one of your gigs to feel the lushness first hand?

we sent them a tape, and crystel and the egg nailed the AI comp, but we didn't actually sign till during/after amber.

during the AI zone we invited them, steve n rob to a show we held at Band on The Wall (mcr). we dj'd all night and did a set in the middle.

Edited November 5, 2013 by Rob Ae

[Rob Ae]

hey. nice one watmm. gotta go too. pce

What's a day in the life of Ae?

Any interesting stuff you can say about any of these tracks? Theme of sudden roundabout, iera, cfern, nuane, latent quarter, 777, netlon sentinel, perlence, they're a few of my faves.

Can you name my oxygen 49?

Space, deep sea or Antarctic?

Android or iOS?

Cheers, thanks again for this q&a session, it's been a great show!

will get to this tmoro

[Guest kero]

Hi there, are u guys still messing around with Kyma language, (since pacarana has been released) ? ps loving ilanders all day.

[ambermonk]

G'night gentlemen. Once again we sincerely appreciate your time on WATMM.

[Guest WNS000]

Do you guys use Paulstretch?

[sun drugs]

hi, thanks for taking the time. hope some of these questions are new

 

would you guys ever consider releasing music on a new label after being on Warp or are you guys staying exclusive?

 

What piece of gear do you miss most?

 

Any regrets in your music careers?

 

dream collaboration?

 

where do you see music in 10 years and where do you see the music of ae in 10 years

 

how has music internet piracy effected you guys?

 

do you ever crank out the rolands and have an oldschool jam like

 

 

considering that sound ^

do you keep up to date with current trends in underground techno/house aka L.I.E.S. , creme/bunker,, opal tapes, trilogy tapes etc etc etc. if not, what do you think of current 'underground' electronic music?

 

[Guest margaret thatcher]

 

It's assumptive to think that Warp has some agenda with the video content. Mostly we're talking about artist/director concepts that they simply approve. Also you're sounding vaguely puritanical.

 

Btw the !!! guys are some of the nicest people I have ever met. It may not be your cup of tea. But people do like it. Also: Nik is a awesome dancer and doesn't take himself too seriously. Always a good thing.

yeah they're top guys

they gave us sausages on our last tour - they were really cool, hospitable as fuck

 

 

Nik Offer's pretty funny guy - met him at ATP this year. Showed him the video of him fucked off his face at the lcd soundsystem final gig after party as he'd never seen it before...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N8t4eDtxzU

 

...and he said it was pretty much caused by doing a corridor of shots on his way out of the gig...

[Guest Restart]

I've noticed that some tracks on Exai, like "vekoS", "Flep" and "tuinorizn", have synth sounds that seem to mimic speech patterns, almost like babbling. Also, on other tracks like "1 1 is", "nodezsh", and "runrepik", the synths feel like they are replicating how instruments create sound physically (i.e. strings being plucked, horns being blown). Is any of this intentional? If not, have you noticed these similarities between the sounds while generating them?

 

Thanks for doing this. You guys are way too good at what you do.

[encey]

Thank you Seanpls & Robpls! Autechre is my favorite electronic music of all time!!!

[mcbpete]

I've noticed that some tracks on Exai, like "vekoS", "Flep" and "tuinorizn", have synth sounds that seem to mimic speech patterns, almost like babbling. Also, on other tracks like "1 1 is", "nodezsh", and "runrepik", the synths feel like they are replicating how instruments create sound physically (i.e. strings being plucked, horns being blown). Is any of this intentional? If not, have you noticed these similarities between the sounds while generating them?

I'm guessing you're talking about formant synthesis and physical modelling

[gnarlybog]

1. are you ruthless editors? have you cut your best work because it didn't fit with the track listing of an album or ep?

 

2. do you think part of autechre's longevity is partly due to the fact that you are always finding new methods of working?

 

3. writers block q: i lately over analyze my compositions because my criteria is that it has to surprise me by its originality (which is why i love your music). it is slightly crippling. any advice?

 

thank you!

[awepittance]

 

and physical modelling

 

sean pls rob pls

[Compvig]

Dear Rob and Dear Sean,

 

Firstly sorry for my possible English grammar mistakes, I didn't have any steady platform to practice it.

For me your music is direct proof of how certain sounds can leak into human nervous system (in this case its me) and change its structure and mechanism completely.

I remember very vividly of my first Autechre experience,It was about 4 years ago, up to that time I never listened electronic music, listening Kalpol Introl and then Bike while doing breath exercises was the first big experience for me, and the day later it was new year, so there was some party which we decided to take shrooms and at one point I put Amber and at first Foil track everyone just lost their mind since then most of the people at that party began to make music and we created some kind of electronic music collective/gathering and had wicked jam sessions. Later that year I registered to electronic engineering undergrad course in order to learn signal processing and fourier synthesis/analysis, circuits, programming etc., and it's now my last year, over these time course I bought and built dozens of analog gear and learn to operate them meaningfully, I learned max extensively (wrote down all documentation of it in order to learn every bit of every object) , bought almost all of your lp's (tri repetea vinyl was worn out due to abusively listening so I bought second one) and had inexpressible experiences while listening all of it, also your radio shows were very very inspiring to discover some oldskool-electro and acid tracks, last month I was able to meet with Jean Claude-Risset and by his colleagues help, I will start apprenticeship at IRCAM next year, I just wanted to thank you guys for every support you give me unconsciously with your music, your tunes and sounds answered all of my questions. By writing this I just aimed to simply thank for everything, Hope this message doesn't seem silly or off topic.

some couple of item specific questions:

- Are you guys still using asr-10 or quadraverb effects on your recent albums?

- Is it possible for you guys to name my roland mks-80 (it has purple lcd display)?

- On Exai's "1 1 is" track did you use fm synthesis for those bubbly sounds?

[J3FF3R00]

 

 

Which track got you signed to warp? Or did they come to one of your gigs to feel the lushness first hand?

we sent them a tape, and crystel and the egg nailed the AI comp, but we didn't actually sign till during/after amber.

during the AI zone we invited them, steve n rob to a show we held at Band on The Wall (mcr). we dj'd all night and did a set in the middle.

That's so fucking dope. I was thinking of asking that.

Your AI tracks are classics, as is Amber. Love your early stuff!

[mcbpete]

I'm currently working on a patch but can't quite place where I'm going wrong. I think I'm nearly there -

 

 

Gamesmaster - Can you help me please ?

[marf]

so, it sounds like you made your last couple releases in your computer. your synths have a real sizzle to them, too. from listening today im going to guess that you layered that sizzle in there with clicky/ blippy sounds on top of the filter to give it extra sizzle. i thought it was an analogue synth but really listening and knowing you did it in the box, i think its layered sounds as opposed to one max object, am i rite?

[mcbpete]

 

and physical modelling

sean pls rob pls

 

I know, my bad - The 'physical' stuff is FM innit...

[gabrielconroy]

I remembered what I meant to ask ages ago - is the synth line that comes in towards the background at around 3:48 in YJY UX you quoting/paraphrasing yourselves from known(1)? I swear the synth itself and the phrase is very similar. Would be really interesting to know how much you take bits of your own older stuff and pull it apart/reassemble again.

[awepittance]

 

 

and physical modelling

sean pls rob pls

 

I know, my bad - The 'physical' stuff is FM innit...

 

i don't know, i said that because the question about if they use it/like it/push it/think its shit was asked 4 times but not answered in the thread

[Zephyr_Nova]

Are you avid coffee/caffeine drinkers? I tend to drink a lot of coffee when I'm working on creative projects as it tends to make the ideas flow faster, helps bring out the madness.

 

Also, I'm still curious if you guys ever deconstruct bits from old tracks and reintegrate into new tracks. I'll often hear something in a new ae track that reminds me of a sound/part of an older one, and I'm never sure if it's a coincidence due to similar methods being used, or if it's deliberately self-referential (which I think is cool, in case this is coming off as a criticism --it's not intended that way. I just find this sort of thing interesting). Sorry if you answered and I missed it.

[ishishiba]

What do you think of James Kirby's various musical output over the years?

[Guest phaelam]

Ae = brain massage

 

question: is it just my ears or do i hear samples that continue to reappear thoughout your years of production?
are the sounds used on each release generated during the production of the release. or do you guys have a sample set you like to werk with? just trying to find out if my ears are tuned in or if im just hearing things.

 

question: when you guys 'cane' something....what on EARTH are you talking about. im a simple canadian, and am not up on your guys slang.

freakin great of you guys to take the time to field all the questions you have been. fun reading them.

thanks much, in advance

second scout
cipater

laughing quarter

skin up youre already dead

prac-f

[poblequadrat]

What do you think about things that barely exist? Like the short bits in films where nothing happens and you only see rain and people passing by, or some detail from a TV ident, or the corridors in tube stations, or elevators, or very short moments in everyday life where there's something that's actually very different from everything you experience usually but which is somehow kept in a way in which you can't make much out of them (i.e. nothing much ever happens in corridors, idents just show you the logo and then end... but at the same time there's something else in these things, and they're definitely different from the spaces you usually inhabit, or the programmes you usually watch...)? I mean, when you walk along a corridor it's a bit as if you were aslees. To me sometimes Quaristice feels a bit as if these things were extended and you were allowed to see what's in them, if that makes any sense, also because all tracks seem to lead into each other and have a definite room-like feeling with movement at the same time (for example the end of Simmm, or Tankakern... I love the rhythms in Simmm by the way), but maybe that's just because I remember when it came out and that was a strange period of my life.

 

 

(Sorry for my convoluted pseudo-questions.)

[Hugh Mughnus]

guys...

 

they've gone to bed for the night.